The dream of a private island paradise vacation seems impossibly remote, a whim reserved for the annoyingly wealthy blessed with too much leisure time.

But it turns out the dream can be yours for $22 a night, just a two-and-a-half-hour drive and a short paddle from Montreal.

Early this summer, my wife, sons Matthew, 6, and Owen, 4, paddled to a small island we had all to ourselves for the weekend at the Saranac Lake Islands Public Campground in New York state. It's one of the few camping sites in this part of the continent that is water access only - you need a boat to get to its 87 camping spots, New York Department of Conservation park ranger Bill Ulinski tells me. About half of the sites are on islands in either Lower Saranac Lake or the slightly farther removed Middle Saranac Lake, and the rest are spread out along the shoreline, tucked in amid the trees, invisible from the water. Because the camping area is near the High Peaks hiking region of the Adirondacks, several mountaintops rising above 1,500 metres are visible.

Many of the islands are large and have two to five campsites spread far apart. But there are 10 islands that you can have completely to yourself, and we had the good fortune to find one that wasn't booked - Hocum Point Island. On a clear Friday, we loaded the minivan and drove to the village of Saranac Lake, where the friendly staff at the rental store plunked a canoe on top of the van and even strapped it down for us. Then it was a five-minute drive to the registration office and boat launch area.

The nice thing about canoe camping is that you don't have to carry all that junk on your back - you just schlep it into the canoe. It all fit easily into one boat, as did our boys. My wife and I have been on a few canoe-camping excursions, but always accompanied by more experienced paddlers, so I was a little nervous about going solo.

The trip out to our island began in a narrow, calm tributary, which was a reassuring start. Our island was about a 45-minute paddle away, but many are much closer, which means you could be as little as a 20-minute boat trip from your car, less if you bring a motorboat, as many fishermen do. We saw a couple of groups of mostly men equipped with guitars, chips and beer heading out for a guys getaway, apparently a common tradition - one party told me it was their seventh year in a row here.

We paddled between the islands amid light swells, admonishing the boys not to shift their weight suddenly to one side of the canoe, and out onto open water, sun, cloud and blue sky overhead, high peaks and hills of green forest surrounding us.

Hocum Point Island measures about 300 metres by 300 metres. There is a large fire pit, a picnic table, an outhouse and nothing else except towering hemlocks and the carpet of needles they provide. The boys were in heaven, exploring the island while still in their life jackets, finding shells, throwing wood and leaves into the fire, cooking marshmallows.

The adults also were in heaven, largely because camping by canoe allows luxuries unheard of in hiking like a cooler with food that isn't freeze-dried, cold beer and chilled wine. In fairness, the wine is more necessity than luxury when camping with children, and there's nothing like sitting on a log by the fire to transform an $11 Merlot into a Château Lafite Rothschild. We ate and played till sundown, and I went for a brief swim to retrieve our canoe, which had floated away in water warmer than a Laurentian lake in August, even though it's early June.

The next day, we decided to go hiking at Mount Jo in the Adirondacks, about an hour away (45 minutes by canoe, 20 minutes by car, passing through Lake Placid). There are hiking spots closer by, but Mount Jo is a personal favourite, and we hoped the boys were old enough for it. There are also day-use areas scattered around the Saranac Lake islands with good spots for swimming, exploring and cliff jumping.

On our hike the boys scurried up the rocks faster than their parents and found salamanders and snakes to play with. Later that day, we spied a bald eagle soaring over the lake, a species reintroduced to the region about 12 years ago and making a fierce comeback. Moose, osprey and wild turkeys also have been spotted lately.

On the paddle back to our campsite, the waves were a little higher, making me yearn for a closer campsite. But the canoe was surprisingly steady, and as we got out into open water, the winds subsided. We were left on a lake mirror calm. We were four weekend voyageurs gliding silently to their island retreat, anticipating a gourmet meal of hot dogs, marshmallows and red wine on a lakeside terrace under a warm evening sun.

If you go

Saranac Lake camping sites cost $22 a night. Call the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for reservations and information at 800-456-2267. Or reserve online, as we did with no problems, at www.reserveamerica.com. The site provides a map of the lakes and campsites. Remember, it’s backcountry camping, so no water or electricity is provided.

The site to launch canoes and motorboats is six kilometres from Saranac Lake – take Highway 3 West, and turn left after the bridge at the sign for Saranac Lake Islands Public Campground and Second Pond Fishing Access Site. To fish, you’ll need a New York licence available at stores in Saranac Lake.

We picked up our canoe at Adirondack Lakes and Trails Outfitters, 541 Lake Flower Ave. in Saranac Lake, a five-minute drive from the boat launch area. Staff will put the canoe on your vehicle, and supply foam pads if you don’t have a rack. Canoe rental costs $35 a day, life jackets are $3 a day, paddles $5 a day. They also rent kayaks, tents, stoves and other supplies, and offer outfitted canoe and kayak trips. Details: 800-491-0414; www.adirondackoutfitters.com.

The site is popular. Park rangers told us between the third week in June and Labour Day it can be very difficult to find a site. Outside of those times, however, availability is much better. Reservations are required till the end of the official camping season, Oct. 10. After that, campsites are available on a first-come first-served basis until the official season reopens around the last week of May. Reservations can be made up to nine months in advance.

For inexperienced canoeists, book a site closer to the boat-launching site. The water can get rough if the winds are high.

Buy firewood in town and bring it with you – there’s not much available on the islands, and you’re not supposed to bring it in from out of state – a precaution against the emerald ash borer that is killing trees.

For the more intrepid and experienced, the lakes are part of a series of four lakes, connected by locks, that can be explored by boat over several days. Call the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for information at 800-456-2267.

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